♪ this is "al jazeera america." i am thomas drayton in new york. let's get you caught up on the top stories at this hour. quiet as day dawns in gaza as we look live. it is 6:00 a.m. as the new three-day cease-fire appears to be holding, at least for now. the crisis in iraq compounded as the prime minister accuses the president of violating the country's constitution. >> fighting continues in eastern ukraine in tonight's segment, "the week ahead," we look at the growing strain that's putting on u.s./russia relations and a

possible new cold war. demonstrators are confronting police for a second night in a row after an unarmed black teen is shot in a st. louis suburb. an be vestgation after tony stewart kills a fellow driver during a track confrontation. ♪ it is good to have you with us. it is quiet in gaza. now, six hours into a new three-day cease-fire, a deal brokered by egypt. there could be more negotiations in cairo tomorrow. more than 1900 palestinians have been killed since the conflict began over a month ago. 64 israeli soldiers and three civilians have also died. jane ferguson is in jer use will he lem as she told us how the truce came together.

>> reporter: sunday's announcement for a ceasefire for 7 two hours came as somewhat of a surprise. the day started in israel with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu emerging from a cabinet meeting saying that the israelis would continue their military operations against gaza, saying that they would never negotiate while under rocket fire. in fact, some members of the cabinet had been pushing for the israeli operation to be really vamped up and increased across gaza. after that, clearly, extremely strong efforts made by the egyptians who have been shuttling between the two sides who are really hosting any potential talks. when they managed to persuade clearly the palestinians to a cease-fire. once they had said that rocket fire would end, then the israelis were able to come on board. ♪net in that way would not lose face by coming back in to the negotiations if the rocket fire ended. right up until the midnight deadline for this cease

ceasefire, there was intention rocket fire coming out of gaza and airstrikes by the israelis inside gaza. however, so far, the ceasefire seems to be holding. we are hearing that the israeli delegation will return to cairo for discussions on monday if the ceasefire holds throughout the evening on sunday night, if they can see that this is in good faith and that there will be peace, at least overnight, so fraught negotiations that will be extremely tough can begin on monday? >> once again jane ferguson. in gaza, residents are shorting through the rubble and burying theded. charles stratford is there. >> reporter: another funeral, another broken palestinian family. friends and relatives mourn as men carry the body of the 35-year-old woman to her grave. she was killed in an israeli airstrike on her house in the southern gaza strip.

close by in the town of rafa, children climbed over the rubble after more airstrikes on homes. >> when they said we have five minutes to leave, we run away. they attack two houses. mine and my brother's house was destroyed. we are residents. we work all our life to make a house and in one minute, they destroy it. >> in a refugee camp lay the body of 13-year-old aiya sharaf, her home like the mosque that was attacked close by. >> about 2:00 a.m., they told the people to leave the house. when the people left their houses, they fired the warning missile. they filed two toward the mosque. they destroyed it. >> drones hovered over this residential area built with money donated by the united arab emerates, another densely populated target. >> reporter: thousands of people living in this refugee

camp. residents say there was an initial drone strike as a warning. 10 minimum later, a massive airstrike. it's a miracle that no one was killed in this attack. it seems not even the resting places for the dead in gaza are safe anymore. even some cemeteries like this one in gaza city have been hit. the graves destroyed. efforts to secure a lasting tries seem as remote as ever. cease-fire after cease-fire has failed with both sides blaminei the other for starting the violence again. >> the situation is terrible. there is no power, no water, no work. people are searching for gasoline and food. there is no life here at the moment. >> we have suffered weeks of this war. there are many displaced people. there is a water crisis, houses destroyed. we pray this will soon end. >> the people of gaza have endured more than a month of not

knowing where to run and when peace will come. the people exhausted and afraid. charles stratford, al jazeera, gaza. in iraq tonight, an already destapled country is being rocked by more political unrest. the prime minister nouri al-malaki accused masum of violating the constitution. al-malaki says he plans to file a legal complaint. the state department announced via twitter the u.s. supports masum. al-malaki made a surprise statement. >> i warned the iraqi parliament, the presidency and the constitutional court that the president masum has no right to delay the election of a new prime minister based upon the results of our last e leingsz and that such a violation would lead to more security problems. >> meanwhile, kurdish forces have taken two towns back from the group calling itself the islamic state. it's a rare victory after the

islamic state group took control of the dam. now they are closing in to the kurdish capital. jane araf is in erbil with more. >> the faerdz of these forces fought for the mountains for decades to try to get rid of saddam hussein. former volunteers are reinforcing to hang on to the gangs the kurds have made. it hasn't been enough. u.s. air strikes launched after the overwhelmed pershmerga withdrew are meant to stop the advance of the islamic state group 40 kilometers from erbil. they are meant to help kurdish forces stand up against a better armed en knemy, still known by e as isis. >> they have acquired huge amounts of modern weapons, of munitions, of tanks, of armored humvees, of long-range artillery

pieces the. in fact, there was no comparison between the fire power of isis and the peshmerga forces. yes, there has been some reversus by the peshmergas and this organization. some withdrawal of certain parts, but this is not a tactical war. >> this conflict, a spillover from the war in syria, is one that no army has fought here the combination of islamic state fighters with suicide bombers and american weapons seized from iraqi forces has made them difficult to stop. >> we need this to buy time, to regroup, to reorganization, and to go on the offensive. >> one of the priorities will be to retake the mosul dam, the biggest in the country now fallen to islamic state fighters. at risk are also oil fields which have been protected by iraqi security forces and then the peshmerga, now within

territory held by the radical group. >> mosul, a center of power for islamic state fighters is sixty kilometers from here. the city of erbil is the kurdish capitol and a major comic had you been, a main target of the group. the united states beliefs the air trooikz will help defend the city but propping up kurdish security forces will be a much longer mission. jane araf, al jazeera, erbil. >> in talking about u.s. involvement, airstrikes ordered by president obama could go on for weeks, even months. that's according to a statement he made saturday. now, some lawmakers are questioning the entire strategy. >> the war in the sky has turned into a war of words here in washington, d.c. and the forum is the sunday broadcasts with republicans accusing the administration saying its strategy in iraq is already ineffective. democrats saying, look. it's strategic. it's designed to make sure that it doesn't escalate.

we will hear from john mccain, a senior senator on the armed services committee and in a moment, dick durbin from illinois. john mccain says if he was in charge, he would arm the kurds, organize bombing of is positions in syria as well as iraq and, also, offer immediate train to go iraqi forces. in other words, according to senator mccain, there is no leadership on this issue coming from the white house. >> decisions have consequences, and the consequences of our failure to leave a residual force and our announcement that we are leaving the area in a vacuum of leadership especially in that part of the world, we are paying a price for it. >> not surprisingly democrats are hitting back. dick durbin, the majority whip in the senate from illinois saying that the white house has planned a careful strategy for iraq designed to make sure there is no escalation. in fact, dick durbin said i can tell you escalation is not in

the cards. >> neither the american people or congress are in the bids of wanting to escalate this conflict beyond where it is today. i think the president made it clear this is a limited strike. he has, i believe, most congressional support for that at this moment . to go beyond is really going to be a challenge. >> one footnote, the state department issuing late word on sunday saying that the connell sulate inner benefit bill and the embassy in baghdad are sending diplomats to secret locations in order that they be safer than they are right now. state department says the consulate and the embassy is still open for business but with the diplomats gone, it means their work will be slowed down. >> john terrett in washington. christopher swift at georgetown university has been keeping a close eye on the unfolding situation in iraq. he says the u.s. will probably do even more to help fight the islamic state group. >> i think the big game changer for isis in northern iraq was their seizure of mosul and their abilitity to get their hands on

heavy art illery and other u.s. military equipment that was left behind. >> that's been the game changer in just the last few weeks. yes, the iraqis areability form a new government and, even if it is a coalition government that brings in sunnis and kurds and is an effective government, they are still months away from making the kind of changes in the iraqi military that they had need to make in order to go after a ruthless, riz i willient and determined ad verse satisfactory like isis. it's likely other regional act orders will have a role to play in this crisis for the weeks and months to come. >> at least one person subpoena dead in fighting in the eastern ukrainian city of donetsk. the ukrainian military is advancing on the city, trying to drive out pro-russian separatists. the fighters say they want a ceasefire, but the ukrainian government says they will agree only if the separatists surrender their arms. many residents of the city fleeing the fighting are headed to moscow. those left behind are cut off from food, water, medicine and electricity and in need of

humanitarian aid. our emma hayward has more from slovyansk. >> reporter: they are being given their orders for the day ahead, receiving mug shots of people that the police want to find. each day, the station receives almost 100 calls from residents reporting crimes committed during separatist rule. there is a new man in charge of the police force which was chased out of slovyansk when the separatists arrived. >> the police never had to deal with such a situation. we are used to work in peaceful times. now, we are living in post-war times. both policemen and citizens need psychological help. for months, we were under occupationtion there was a constant threat of killing or kidnapping, especially for civilians. >> the police try to deal with the alleged crimes of

separatists and their supporters, they are also -- there are also concerns in the community that people could be wrongly accused of being collaborators. outside the police station, we met vladimir and his mother. he filed a report saying he had been beaten up by men in military, not police, uniforms who he told us had wrongly accused him of being a separatist. >> i am innocent. i am just an ordinary citizen. they have beaten me and taken my car, even my driver's license. i don't know what kind of justice will be served. i hope they don't kill me and my car will be returned. >> the editor-in-chief of the local paper has returned to work. they stopped printing when the separatists arrived. he says even though they have now gone, they still wield some power here >> translator: the separatists came here and destroyed the infrastructure and houses and killed people. i thought the people who supported the separatists would change their mind.

there were a lot of people who changed their attitude, but i am amazed that there are also a lot of people who didn't learn anything from these event did. they still think that the kiev government is a junta and that they are illegal. they still think the bp r is go good. >> reporter: many people here are keen to try to move forward, forced to hold back their opinion, a trade-off for pis. slovyansk in eastern ukraine. >> we invite you to stay with us in our segment "the week ahead" we will look at relationships between the u.s. and russia are being marked once again by growing mistrust. >> will be at 11:30 p.m. eastern t 8:00 p.m. pacific. >> 39 are dead and others injured natural plane crash in iran. local politicians say international sanctions prevent iran from buying new planes. this is what remains of the

sefan air flight charred metal in the middle of the street in tehran. despite the deaths of most of those on board, it came down at a relatively quiet time of the morning, avoiding more fau fatalities on the ground. the pilot was praised for his final actions. >> we should thank god the pilot could move the plane away from residential buildings. unfortunate fortunately, he did not crash on them. otherwise, we would have been dealing with a much worse crisis now. >> a witness described the flight's final moments. >> translator: ists driving nearby between 8:45 and 9:00. when i came over near the residential area, i saw the airplane coming down gradually and it began to wobble. it was gradually approaching the ground and finally, crashed on to the street. the rear end which was separated from the utes he willage went into the middle of the street. unfortunately there wasn't much traffic. >> the propellor driven plane had taken off from tehran's

airport in iran's northeast. of the 48 passengers and crew, nine survived. according to iranian state media, one man said he was thrown out of the plane by the force of an explosion. one relative of a victim described how she found out about the crash. >> translator: they said the plane had crashed and just said come quickly and receive the bodies of your children. >> there were differing reports of what brought down the plane, state t.v. said the tail struck electricity cables. the official news agency said the plane suffered engine failure. but whatever the reason, iran's aviation sector has suffered under years of western sanctions. airlines have a hard time getting spare parts. the plane that crashed was locally assembled version of a soviet-era designed aircraft. it's the third time such a plane has crashed in iran since 2002.

iran's president has ordered all such planes grounded until an investigation is complete. but until iran can get access to up-to-date parts and maintenance for its planes, the risks of flying within a country remain. al jazeera. still ahead on "al jazeera america," celebrations in ankara, the turkish prime minister is now the president elect. we will take you there coming up. ahead, more fallout from a police shooting in a st. louis area. a mother of an unarmed teen killed is demanding justice. a group of missionaries are returning to go the u.s. now, officials want them quarantin quarantined.

>> a lot of these mining sites are restricted >> a silent killer... >> it's got a lot of arsenic in it >> you know your water's bad, and you know you're sick >> unheard victims... >> 90% of the people will have some type of illness from the water. >> where could it happen next? >> i mean they took away my life... fault lines... al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> they're locking the door... ground breaking... >> we have to get out of here... truth seeking... >> award winning, investigative, documentary series. water for coal only on al jazeera america >> the second night in a row, protests in the st. louis area after a police officer shot and

killed angunarmed teenager t you can hear residents and police in this conflict. once again, this is following the shooting of an unarmed black teenager as we are looking live in ferguson, misery. we are going to be following this, but we want to show you knew video that was captured using an ipad. it shows the stand-off between police and demonstrators. some protesters reportedly began looting and attacking police cars after a vigil earlier tonight. officers are there in riot gear. our morgan radford has more on the shooting that started it all. >> reporter: angry residents rallied outside the police department sunday morning in ferguson, miss eerie, a st. louis is, misery. they held signs reading, no justice no, peace. they are protesting death of 18-year-old michael brown who was shot and killed saturday by a police officer right there near his grandmother's house. police say brown was inside a

police car, although it's still unclear exactly why. and somehow became involved in a struggle with an officer. >> it wasn't a physical altercation at the time that the extended eventually out into the street. and that is, in fact, where the shooting occurred. the fatal shooting occurred, was in the street outside of a police car. >> asked how many times brown was shot, st. louis county police chief john bellmar said? >> it was more than just a couple, but i don't think it was many more than that. >> reporter: brown was a recent high school graduate due to start college monday. as word of his death spread through the community saturday night, the reaction was first shock, then anger. >> nobody. my son just turned 18 and graduated from high school. he don't bother nobody. >> reporter: county officials have taken over the investigation from ferguson's police department. >> we should make note this was actually an officer of the

ferguson police department, which is a small municipality outside of st. louis called on the st. louis county which is a larger police department, so already, they are saying went to remove ourselves from the investigation to give the investigation more objectivity. i think having the justice department with its eyes on this case is also very important, particularly in light of what just happened in new york, with the choke hold case and the determination by the medical exam ner there and if that was, in fact, a homicide. tensions are really at an all-time high in african-american communities and the distrust for police officers when these kinds of cases happen just can't be underestimated. >> belmar said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation goes forward. morgan radford, al jazeera, new york. >> we want to take you back to ferguson, misery. bear with us as the shot kind of moves around here but you can see residents confronting police. this is in st. louis county a second night in a row following the shooting of an unarmed

teenager. residents there showing their frustration to the police department demanding answers over why this teenager was shot. once again, you are looking live, ferguson minutes your e. this shot is bouncing around but police are out there. several officers with the canine unit. there are also reports that protesters began looting and attacking police cars. we are also hearing the local media covering this story have been -- have been confronted, if you will, by the residents there in ferguson, missouri. tensions certainly high between residents and the president. we will be following this story and the situation very closely throughout the night here on al jazeera. now, to the latest on the l ebola virus outbreak. a group of missionaries who were in direct contact with patients are coming back home to carolina. hecht officials say they will be quarantined to 21 days. they belong to sim u.s.a.

officials say they show no sign of infection. but they did work alongside nancy writebol, one of two american workers who had contracted the virus. she is being treated at emmory university in atlanta. her family says it will be a long road to recovery. >> she is doing really well. unfortunately, she still has a long way to go. at this point, really, the doctors are just trying to care for her and keep her as comfortable as possible. >> the other infected american, dr. kent brantly is being treated at the same hospital. he belongs to the mission hiary group, sam mayor tan's purse based in north carolina. health officials in hong kong are waiting for test results to see if a nigerian man is suffering with ebola. the patient is quarantined officials say he got sick at his hotel shortly after he arrived on thursday. the world health organization says this is the largest ebola disease outbreak ever recorded, taking 961 lives since march,

more than 1800 people are infected in four countries. again e has lot the highest number of people with 300 in 67 deaths. >> turkey's prime minister for more than a decade will be the country's first president. erdogan won the elections with 52% of the vote. al jazeera's jamal reports on the victory celebrations. ♪. >> joy and jubilation on the streets of ankara as supporters of erdogan celebrated his victory with turkey's first ever directly elected president. they were he can static as they gathered outside his party's headquarters to hear the man so many of them idolize. but unlike his often fiery statements, he struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech insisting that this was a win for democracy before it was a victory for himself.

>> translator: from this day, on wards, we will have a new social reconciliation and our richness, put forward not our differences but the common values we share. erdogan's main con tender, although he was backed by a diverse range of over a dozen political parties, the veteran international diplomat was unable stop erdogan from winning a 9th election. >> i hope these results will be good for our democracy. i congratulate our prime minister and wish him good luck. >> despite erdogan and his party not losing an election for 12 years, the president elect still failed to convince some turks he was the right man for the job. >> i have ordered primarily because i think he is the candidate that would unite this country, unlike erdogan who only

claims to represent the people who vote for him. >> many of those who oppose erdogan accuse him and his government of becoming more and more authortarian, but that's an axezation they deny. >> during the time they hear this criticism, the government in erdogan has declared one of the largest in the republic. he has been the soul power bind the piece process in turkey, one of the biggest issues that have been sources of turkish in our geography. >> these elections and the sell with erdogan telling his supporters, some waving palestinian flags that this was a victory for the free loving people of the world. a new era for turkey as a whole. erdogan indicated he wishes to be in pour in 223 when turkey will celebrate 100 years since the founding of the republic.

but for him to do that and achieve some of his other goals like organizing the constitution, he will need to build on his already large support base winning over even more sections of turkish society. jamal, al jazeera, ankara. >> the ukrainian military has been advancing towards donetsk to wish out pro-russian separatists. when we come back, we will take a look at how this and other issues are driving the u.s. and russia even further ahead. >> that's in the week ahead. stay with us.

welcome back to "al jazeera america." here are the top stories we are following right now. a new cease-fire appears to be holding in gaza after another we weekend of violence. the deal was brokered in cairo where a 72 hour truce was agreed to. he script is urging both to agree to a long emergency room term solution. nouri al-malaki accused iraqi president masum of violating the constitution because he hasn't named a new prime minister.

al-malaki says he plans to file a legal complaint. happening right now near st. louis, a stand-off between protesters and police, the second night of protest after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen. some protesters reportedly began looting and attacking police cars after a vigil earlier tonight. officers are there right now in riot gear. >> it is sunday night in and time for our regular look at the week ahead. ties between the u.s. and russia have become strained in recent years. in contrast to the brief thought that followed the cold war, relations between the two nations are again marked by tension and mistrust. the two sides are now trying to stifle each other economically. we begin it with this report from courtney keely? >> fighting rages in donetsk, the largest pro-russian strong hold in eastern ukraine the rebels say they want a seats fire. but ukraine officials demand

immediate surrender. president obama and other world leaders are keeping a close eye on russian president vladimir putin, warning intervention by moscow would be a violation of international law. >> what we can do is say to mr. putin, if you continue on the path of arming separatists with heavy armaments that the evidence suggests may have resulted in 300 innocent people in a jet dying and that violates international law and undermines the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine, then you are going to face consequences. >>sponding to western sanctions, russia has retaliated with a sweep can ban on most food products from the west. russian prime minister dmitri medi m

medyev covers many products, the european, norway and the united states. >> the ban will last one year. it's doubtful russia will see empty shelves but they import about 40 percent of their food needs. this will drive up food prices for ordinary russians. it's meant to show president putin's resolve to open a new front against the west, an economic battle. >> putin's trump card may be that europe is unlikely to give up cheap energy supplies and risk another recession. >> that's his calculation. he's been right so far. if he sends troops in, i think europe could get tough. >> putin benefits from high approval ratings at home and is known not to respect nuance or weakness. >> he grew up in the kgb. it is this global battle for prestige an face. >> that's the danger. >> that's where putin does send troops because it's so important for him to be seen as standing up to the americans. >> regardless of what happens next, it will not likely help

repair tattered u.s./russian relations. courtney keely, al jazeera. >> as courtney mentioned, the u.s. russian relationship has been growing colder for years, but this year, the crisis in ukraine has raised tensions to levels not seen since the cold war. another conflict that has split east and west is syria. russia along with schein has blocked nearly every resolution proposed at the united nations. edward snowden, the u.s. wants to try him for leaking cents but he has taken asylum in moscow. last week, his permission to stay there was extended for another three years. for more on u.s./russia relations, i am joined in new york by nina crut truscheva. and william pomerance at the woodrow wilson center. good to have you with us? >> thank you. >> i want to start with you?

>> glad to be here. >> this has been a bumpy road. we have spoken several times. the situation is getting worse. >> it is getting worse. i think that putin decided that there is no way that he can coordinate with the west, communicate with the west in his mi mind. therefore, he is not going to take anybody's bluff but continue with his road which is when isolationism comes, it's going to blame everybody else, and he, himself, will be a patriotic hero to the russians. >> what is his quest? what is he trying to strengthen? a national identity? >> he is trying to strengthen national identity. it has been anti-western. russia always defined itself by what the west is not. putin has been one 50% of that. and he does think that the more he is anti-western, the more he can unite russia around him and,

therefore, the longer he can stay in power. >> mr. pomerance, what do you make of this? are we at cold war levels? >> i think we are at a post-cold war low. i am not sure we are at cold war levels. when you think the relationship can't get any worse, it does. and now, we are in the process of having various sanctions imposed by the united states and by russia. the irony is that the sanctions imposed by russia, at least on this most recent food ban is more damaging to russia than in many ways it is to the west. so, i think we have reached a new post-cold war low and things don't seem to be turning up at all. >> why is the relationship so important? what are america's interests? >> well, america has interests in working with russia and solving various issues around the world, in afghanistan, in syria that was mentioned n iran and in north korea. we have since the collapse of the soviet union worked with russia to address those issues.

so, i think that is one of the important things that has tried to bring russia and the united states together. the other, of course, is that the united states has strong allies in europe. we want to support europe and the territorial integrity and borders exist and putin's actions in and now in ukraine threaten that and u.s. security. >> very good point. ukraine remains a thorn, if you will between u.s. and russian relations? >> absolutely but something to add to mr. pomerance's point, russia, a lot is in europe. therefore, it is very important to the united states, ukraine is a buffer zone, so to speak between europe and russia, something that during the cold war, po land was. poland was the last line of defense now ukraine is the last line of defense for the west. so, it is for russia. apartment argues if nato borders, we approach russia, that would be the end of russia, russia's military strength. >> that's why a lot of his rhetoric is aimed at the

military strength as the war rhetoric because for him, russia's defense, russia's security, the way he understands, is something that he needs to protect and ukraine is very crucial to that. >> i want to talk more about ukraine, but would weakening u.s./european relations with other countries benefit russia? say german, italy, so forth? >> actually, i think that one of the tactics that putin chooses is that he wanted to split europe and the united states because after the cold war, the west has not been as monolithic as it was during the cold war. i think his aim was that russia has its own relationship with europe, that europe has relations with the united states and whatever the relationship is left, maybe between russia. >> dependency? >> exactly. he has -- he says to europe, i am going to be your friend or your partner as long as you are not there with the united states. in fact, russian propaganda or russian press actually was very

big on saying, well, vladimir putin has his own relationship with angela merkel and she has to choose between russia and united states. i think that was one of his goals, which at this point, i don't think really has worked out. >> that's why he went full circle on russian sanctions. >> we talked about these sanctions last week. the u.s. placed sanctions on several banks in the area among other things as well. do you actually think that tougher sanctions -- i will turn to you, mr. pomerance, tougher sanctions are the answer? >> tougher sanctions are a response. the issue really is how does the u.s. and the eu and other nations respond to russia's actions in ukraine? clearly, the united states has made a choice, that it is not going to intervene militarily and it has pretty much taken that off of the table from the very beginning. but the u.s. believes and the eu believes there must be some response to deter mr. putin. obviously there wasn't enough of a response to deter him in in

crimea but from directly intervening in ukraine. now, will it stop mr. putin from intervening if he believes it's. >> russia's absolutely interest to intervene? i don't think so. i think mr. putin, as he has shown with the food bans will simply assume russia will make the sacrifice in order for russia to maintain an international military power. but i think the goal of the sanctions has been to at least show russia and to show mr. putin that there are costs to his actions. >>. >> ms. khrushcheva, you wanted to add? >> i agree. i think russian sanctions wouldhe hurt russia much more than they would hurt the united states or europe for that matter. i think that's where putin is actually hedging his bets because he's deciding that, yes, russia would have -- russians would have to sacrifice russia's index, russia's sticking to the west and his ideas that maybe russia will not become another super power but it positive

prevent the united states from continuing to be one. >> what b russia's role as a global player? >> i think at this point, it really has just been a spoiler. and that's what i think it's going to continue, but the question is: the big spoiler is going to be or the less spoiler is going to be, so far putin plans to be a grabbed yost spoiler. i think that's his vision of his leadership in the kremlin, leadership for russia. that's how he's going to go. >> i don't think he cares about international pressure at all? >> i think he cares to a degree, but i think he, himself, already believes i kind of want to go back to the carter administration because at the beginning, between carter and beardsly at the time the first secretary -- general secretary of the communist party, in 1977, there was a great hope that this relationship would go somewhere in to the progressive direction and it ultimately deteriorated and almost the worst point, almost the worst in contemporary time in history.

and i think there was a lot of misunderstanding, and i think that at this point, we have the same kind of many misunderstandings, many misconceptions that are not being addressed in any way because they see each other as enemies. >> mr. pomeranz, where do we find areas of cooperation between the u.s. and russia? >> obviously, i don't think we are going to find that many in the short-term right now. i think what we have to do is basically apply some element of pressure on mr. putin and see if he is willing to at least negotiate a settlement over ukraine. >> is really the immediate issue that we face. i think general proposals have been put forward. i think that there are general issues that can be agreed upon, but really, it's up to mr. putin to decide when he wants to end this crisis. it would mean that he wouldn't have a direct say in the development of ukraine, but there is every reason to think that the u.s. and the eu could agree that, for example, nato

membership is off the table for the immediate future. so, i think that right now, in terms of u.s. russian relations, the immediate crisis is in ukraine and once that is addressed, they can turn to other global issues. >> in talking about russia as a glooebl player, it does have foreign leverage in the energy sector sector. >> it does. there is, i think, the point we should make to europe, but i mean europe, i think, already got that point is that there was a cold war, better dead than repped and now it's better cold than dead because russia has not been acting responsiblely in any way. it doesn't seem to be in in interest of europe to consider to nod to russia because it has all of this leverage with oil and gas. so, i am not really sure. >> that's what putin is betting on. but i don't know if europe should actually take that bet. as to what the future holds, i

actually don't see that this administration can resolve this relationship because i think putin may change his mind when the new president comes in and he may decide he likes him a bit better because he clearly does not like barack obama. >> putin has support among his people. >> he does. it's technically 80%, it's probably around 80 or so when i talk to people in moscow, i don't see too much love for putin but at the same time, there is a lot of fear, and not so much fear of putin, himself, because so far, people have been arrested only sporadically, but fear is that if he goes, russia would go into chaos and that's how russians always afraid. when the supposedly strong hand goes, then russia is going to be much worse off. so far, he stands for the russian pride and that kind of national pride is very important to the russians. >> mr. pomeranz, where do with

we go from here? >> i think we have to deal with the issue in ukraine and obviously a lot will depend as ms. khrushcheva mentioned, about the left of support that putin maintains inside the country. a lot of what he's doing is directed toward a domestic audience. the nationalist rhetoric, the continued campaign in ukraine, is to shore up this 80% support. but if, indeed, as a result of u.s. and eu sanctions and as a result of the russian sanctions that have just been brought, people begin to suffer inside russia, then his political situation may become a little more precarious. >> that's not going to happen overnight. but if he continues to pursue this policy of choosing to isolate russia as opposed to integrate russia, there could be consequences that catch up to poopt. >> this conversation will continue. we will have to leave it there. william pomeranz and nina khrushcheva, great to have you

both with us on the week ahead. before we go, let's look at some other events coming up on the week ahead. on tuesday, lebanonts president will vote on a new parliament. on wednesday, pope francis will head to his first trip to asia. he wasn't able to bring together people from the north and south after a delgration from pyong refused his invitation. >> the seattle fest begins, the many potentials of hemp. a horrific site forays car fans as a driver is hit and killed on the racetrack. coming up on "al jazeera america," why officials are saying nascar's tony stewart may not face criminal charges.

san investigation is underway after nascar championship tony stewart killed another drive. kevin ward junior stepping on to the track during the rates. one car almost hits him. then stewart strikes him. officials are asking the public for any pictures they may have to help in their investigation. >> nats car star tony stewart will not face criminal charges according to the latest word of ontario county. >> mr. stewart had been fully cooperative. he has given his account of the events to the police officers. he is extremely upset of this crash, and has confirmed his continued cooperation in this investigation. >> this video shows the

horrifying movement when stewart hit and killed kevin ward junior, a 20-year-old sprint race car driver. ward swerved after close conflict with a pack of cars and hit the retaining wall. he got out of his car, walked on to the track as the cards came back around. one car swerved and missed him, stewart's car struck him. ward was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. >> the people at the motorsports have cooperated fully. we want to make it known that they have expressed their deepest sympathies, again, to the family of the deceased driver. >> tony stewart released this statement: there aren't words to describe the sadness i feel about the accident that took the life of kevin ward, jr. it's a very emotional time for all involved. and it is for that reason, i have decided not to participate in today's race. my thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this strategy.

according to his bio on kevin ward rating.com, he started rating go carts at the age of 4, sprint cars four years ago. >> the controversial keystone excel pipeline could cooperate more pollution. once built, the line will transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of oils from canada to the united states. now, a new study says that extra oil will lower prices and drive up consumption and pollution. scientists with the stockholm environment institute say that could produce 4 times more greenhouse gas emissions than the government's estimates. amazon.com is in another feud. this time, the online giant is fight with disney. according to the "wall street journal," physical copies of some disney movies are not available to order on amazon.com today. amazon did not comment on the issues with disney. this is the latest amazon fight with a contents provider. it's also battling accomplisher hatchet over the price for ebooks. today, a group called authors

united ran a two-page ad in "the new york times" criticizing amazon. more than 900 prominently writers endorsed the add. volkswagon is recalling almost 170,000 vehicles with safety issues. more than 151,000 tiguans.u.v.s can stall in the summer months if the driver is using winter grade fuel. the affected models are 2009 to 2014. officials say bubbles can form in the fuel tank making it tough to start the car. in more than 18,000 rutan mini vans are being recalled. the auto maker says some of the 2009 models have trouble with ignition switches. no accidents or injuries have been reported with either recallrecall coming up on "al jazeera america," this is not how you're supposed to exit a ride. a day at the amuse i can park gets turned upsidedown for folks in baltimore.

al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story.

>> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> on tech know, >> the system is paying attention... >> life saving technology... >> i definitely slowed down as a result... >> transforming the way you drive... >> maybe crashes won't happen any more... >> smart cars of the future... >> whoa...i would have driven straight through that... >> tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. >> this is some of the best driving i've every done, even though i can't see. >> tech know. >> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america. we want to update you on the demonstrations at a st. louis suburb in ferguson, misery.

we have been following this for the past hour. it is a very active scene. there are police in riot gear currently on the scene as well as a k-9 unit trying to hold back some of the demonstrators. protesters are upset over the death of an unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer. initially people gathered for a vigil for the teenager, michael brown, who was shot and killed. then it turned into a stand off between police and demonstrators. there are reports that police cars and news trucks have been damaged. we are hearing that a convenience store in the area was looted. we are also getting another report just moments ago from a local reporter. there were reports of 4 gunshots. this is according once again to local media reports that have been confirmed by police there on the scene. we are going to be following the latest situation out of ferguson, misery. it is a tension situation between members of the community and the police force over the death of an unarmed teenager.

we will be following this throughout the night. turning to a much lighter note. it might be tricky to catch the start of a meteor shower tonight. these are pictures from last year's meteor shower. thousands will appear in the skies over the next few days. this year, the shower coincides with what's called a super more than. >> means the moon is at its closest point to earth and will be almost 30% brighter. all that extra light might washout the view of some of the meet yorz. astronmembers say your best chance of catching those shooting showers is in the hours just before dawn. one person who will be up just before dawn, rebecca stevenson joining us with the forecast. you love this. >> you have to look out to the northeast because it's the con stillation, perseus, it will be gorgeous. so not only tonight, but tomorrow morning, and all the way into wednesday morning, those will be opportunities but saying yes, you want to get away

from the city lights because, boy, they will washout the great meteor shower but it's a bright one. there is good hope you will see it, especially if you are in one of the areas that has clearer skies. >> that's definitely the case in parts of the pacific northwest and parts of montana. we have clear skies along parts of southern california. the problem is we have been getting thunderstorms rolling through the north central portion of california into oregon and idaho, the very areas that are so dry, they are doing a lot of fire fighting here this is a picture that one of the fire fighters took of the little bridge fire in washington. it's right next to the largest wildfire that washington state has had. still, getting a handle on these wildfires that have been burning for a month. and, you know, some of these fires smeelder and embers are around until the first snow comes in the fall. we are watching this, too, because look at the hot weather. tomorrow is the peak for this big heat wave for the pacific

ernesto. 90s, triple dijzj digital for phoenix. in the east coast, cooler temperatures, low to mid 80s. the overall has been to stay on the rainfall side of things above normal for places in the east coast and way blow for seattle. seattle, three and a half inches below normal. >> you like roller coasters? >> love them. >> you won't after this one. a rollercoaster ride turned into a 5-hour or deal. you can call it an adventure if you want for 24 people stranded at six flags in maryland. six children were among righters struck on the joker's jinks for up to 5 hours, 45 feet above ground. this ride goes about 60 miles an hour and turns upsidedown four times stranded riders were brought to safety one by one with the help of a 105 foot tower ladder. imagine climbing that all the way down. now, it's unclear why the ride got stuck but six flags officials say their safety system performed as it was

supposed to. heart pounding moments. >> that's going to do it for this hour. thanks for joining us. i am thomas drayton in new york. next, "al jazeera america" presents "border land." thanks for watching. >> two hours in, we came up on a body... >> this country is crazy man..you have problems with somebody...they him them. >> knowing this is the kind of violence that is so prevalent in the culture...are you telling me that's ok to just open up the borders and let em' all run into the united states? >> the good news is , is that you'll be coming home soon... the bad i